Lauderdale Lakes Answers Questions on Financial Crisis

The city manager of Lauderdale Lakes answered some tough questions from the state Inspector General in the Governor’s Office regarding the city’s financial crisis.

In a letter from Anita Fain Taylor to Kim Mills, Director of Auditing for the Office of the Chief Inspector General, Taylor laid out the reasons the city owes nearly $6 million to the Broward Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement and fire services along with other financial problems.

Taylor writes that the city is not requesting state assistance to deal with its’ budget crisis but acknowledges that the city will be in a state of financial emergency because it cannot pay BSO.

The letter says one of the ways the city is considering raising revenue is to tax residents for law enforcement services.

There are several reasons for the city’s financial troubles, writes Taylor. She says the city experienced a significant drop in property values which led to fewer tax dollars and an over-projection of revenues.

She also says the city shelled out more money for operating costs like the price of gasoline along with a rise in the costs of city contracts.

To deal with it, as we’ve reported, the city laid off dozens of employees and cut back on salaries and benefits of other workers. The city also discontinued building projects